Recipe for Chicken Leg Quarters - Inexpensive, Can Feed a Crowd

Whenever I post about inexpensive (but delicious) recipes, I always get great response. The women in my church, all of them great cooks, are searching for ways to economize, and I promised them as many e-mails and blog posts as I could do on the subject.

Chicken leg quarters are the most inexpensive protein you can buy, other than probably eggs. My project this week was to create a recipe that utilized them, and actually tastes good...

...mission accomplished.

Here are your ingredients:

chicken leg quarters (it was only Tim and I for dinner tonight, that is why you see just three pieces...)

red potatoes

six ounces cream cheese

(I ended up with plenty left over)

fresh rosemary

fresh chives (all the herbs came from my garden - further savings)

Italian dressing

coarse salt

fresh cracked pepper

red pepper flakes (feel free to omit this, if you don't want the kick in the pants. We like our pants kicked.)

chop your herbs...


combine herbs, salt (a couple pinches), pepper (about 60 "grinds" with the grinder), cream cheese, and a teaspoon red pepper flakes


separate the skin from the meat, creating a little "pouch"...then gross out from handling a dead bird...note that your hands look exactly like your mother's...try not to think about how gooey this job is...


stuff the pouch with cream cheese mixture, use your fingers (gah) to moosh and spread it around...

brush Italian dressing (about 2 TB) on the skin, then salt generously with coarse salt...

toss your quartered potatoes with 3 TB Italian dressing, salt, pepper, and any chopped herbs you have left...

...toss the chicken on top...bake at 400 degrees for at least an hour and 20 minutes, maybe an hour and a half, or until...

...a thermometer reads 180, when inserted in the thigh...

plate these birdies and taters up and eat!

The leg quarters were .59 cents a pound, the potatoes were $2.50 for a 3 lb. bag.

A very, very inexpensive, but truly good meal. Tim gave it two thumbs up.